speed



(No M0061. 2 Shebts-Sheet 1:

F. M. SPEED. I

BLEGTRIG RAILWAY. v

No. 380,060. Patented Mar. 27, 1888.

/III/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII (No Model.)

- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

4 F. M. SPEED.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

' No. 380,060. Pa tented Mar. 27, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE.

FRANCIS M. SPEED, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO IHETELPHERAGE ELECTRIC RAILWAY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE;

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,060. dated March27, 1888. Application filed February 12, 1887. Serial No. 227,375. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS M. SPEED, of the city and countyof SanFrancisco, and State of California, have invented an Improvement inElectric Railways; and I hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to that class of electric railways in which theconductor is divided into to sections and has switches which normallybridge from one section to the other, and de vices operated by thevehicle to move said switches successively and divert the currentthrough the motors of said vehicle, so that the r 5 motors are connectedin series through the divided conductor.

My invention consists of an improved means for operating said switchesand a peculiar arrangement of the conductors to permit of said 7 2oswitches being operated automatically without interference with thecurrent operating the motors.

It further consists of a novel shuttle and connections with the vehiclefor the purpose of maintaining'electrical connection between the 'motorwhich drives the vehicle and conductor either in a channel-way beneaththe roadway or on supports above it and electrically operating theswitches, all of which I shall herein- 0 after fully describe.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevationshowing the vehicle and its accompanying shuttle in the channel-way.Fig. 2 is a view showing the chan- 3 5 nel-way in cross-section,aportion being broken away, and the contained parts and travelingshuttle. Fig. 3 is a diagram of the electric system in its normalcondition. Fig. 4. is a diagram of same, showing the motor in circuit.

A is theroadway, upon which travels the car B, carrying and propelled byan electric motor, (represented by X, Fig. 1.)

C is a channel-way in the roadway, having a slot, 0, similarto the slotof a cableroad.

5 D are parallel insulated non conducting shuttle-guides andconductor-supports located in the channel-way.

. E is a shuttle moved by the car, and fitted and traveling between theparallel insulated 5o shuttle-guides and conductor-supports D.

F is a divided and sectional conductorof the current operating themotors. One part is secured to the under side of one support and theother to the under side of the other support, and these parts are madein sections, which in 5 the diagram, Fig. 3, are designated by f f 2 f,&c., on one side and by f f f &c., on the other side. The sections ofthe conductor on either support are electrically disconnected; but asection on one side is electrically connected with the succeedingsection on the other side by wire G, as shown-that is, f with f i fwithfflf withf, &c.

F represents a dynamo supplying acurrent through the conductor F, foroperating the electro-motors X.

H is a divided and sectional conductor of a supplementalswitch-operating current. This conductor is secured, one part to theupper side of one support D and the other to upper side of the othersupport, and these parts are made in sections corresponding to those ofthe motor-circuitconductor F. These sections are shown in the diagram,Fig. 3, and are designated by hh hh &c., on one side and hh h h, 5 800.,on the other side.

Wires I electrically connect each section on one side with thesucceeding section on the other side 'at the point shown -that is tosay,h with h it with h", h with h, 850.

H' is a dynamo supplying a current to thesupplementarycircuit andoperating the switches through the conductor H.

In addition to the connections of the conductor H by the wire I, thesections on one 8 5 side-namely, h h h* h, &c.are electrically connectedby wire j, which includes thecoils of the electro-magnet J, and inaddition tothe electrical connection of the sections of the conductor Fby the wire G the sections on one 0 side-namely, ff? f f &c.-areelectrically connected by wires k, forming a circuit which maybeopenedand closed at p and ip 'by themovement of the armature K of theelectromagnet J. 7 I

The operation of the system is as follows: The current from the dynamo Hpasses throughh, the wire j, and coils of the included electromagnet Jh, and by similar connections into,

h, and so on through each succeeding section r00 of one side of theconductor H, energizing the electro-magnet J, which, attracting itsarma-' through one side of the conductor F, Fig. 3.-

Thisis the normal condition of thesystem when no motors are incircuitthat is to say, the switch-circuit is complete through one sideof the conductor, and all of the armatures of the electro magnets areattracted, the switches kept closed, and the motor-circuit uninterruptedthrough one side of the conductor F.

The body of the shuttle is made of wood or other non conductingmaterial. It is supported, travels in, and is guided between theinsulated non-conducting shuttle-guides and conductor-supports D. It isdrawn along in that position by the metal draw bars L L, Fig. 1, whichare pivoted to the car and to the upright metal rods L L. Thesedraw-bars are sufiiciently long that they will occupy a sloping positionwith reference to the channelway, the purpose of which is to prevent theup-anddown movement of the car, caused by irregularities in the track,from being communicated to the shuttle. The rods L L extend down throughthe slot 0 into the conduit 0 without touching the channel-irons, theguides below and the guard-piece S (a little thicker than the rods L L)on the top of the shuttle preventing it. The metal rods L L areinsulated from each other by the non-conducting material of the body ofthe shuttle.

To each side of the lower portion of the shuttle is attached a metalplate, the righthand plate being here designated by l and the left-handplate by I. These plates move under and in electrical connection withthe parts of the motorcircuit conductor F, directly above, by means ofthe springs, brushes, or other suitable yielding contacts, Z and P,respectively, Fig. 2. The plates 2 l are insulated from each' other bythe non-conducting material of the body of the shuttle, but are eachelectrically connected with the rods LL by wires Z 2 It will be seenthat a complete circuit may be established from one side of theconductor F through contacts I, plate Z, wire 2, rod L, into the motor,thence by the rod L, wire Z, contact Z, plate Z, into the other part ofthe conductor F, and this as the shuttle moves along; but in order todivert the current through the motor the motor-circuit must be broken atp 1), Diagram 4, so that the current, instead of passing through theswitch, as it normally does, will pass by the wire G to the other partof the conductor F, and thence through the parts of the shuttle andmotor into the other side of the conductor F. This is done by means ofthe metal contactstrip M M, transversely placed on the upper side of andinsulated from all the other metal parts of the shuttle, and spanningthe space between the supports D and moving in contact with both sidesof the switchoperating circuit-conductor H thereon.

M M, to h", than that through the coils of the electro-magnet J. Themagnet J, being cut out or shortcircuited, will release its arma-' ture,thus opening the switch-points p p, breaking the normal motor-circuit,and diverting it from f, through G, into f, thence, through theshuttle-contacts and the motor, to f. In other words, by means of aseparate switch-operating current, the motor-circuit is kept normallywhole throughout the system until when a car with its accompanyingshuttle arrives upon any section of the system the switches areautomatically opened and the motor-current diverted from its normalcourse to that through the motors, as described, and this throughout thewhole system. The metal strips ll, with the contact-brushes l P thereon,are made sufiiciently long to span over the intervals between thesections of the motorcurrent conductor, and there are two of the metalcontact-strips M M, the purpose of which is, that the forward one, M,may pass onto a forward sect-ion and open its switch before the strip Mhas passed 0d of and closed the switch of the preceding section toprevent firing atthe pointsp p.

The switch is double-pointed to prevent an are forming (in case ofderangement of the system) when the switch is closed or opened.

I am aware that it is not new, broadly, to provide for operating motorsin series on an electric railway by opening and closing switches (eithermechanically or electrically) to divert the current through said motors;but there are serious objections to opening the switches mechanically,among which is the necessity of making the sections only as long as thevehicle or train of vehicles. To accomplish it electrically with electro-magnets included in the motor-circuit adds too much resistance to thatcircuit, and interferes also with the proper government of the engineturning the generator, the generator itself, and the motors.

By the use of a supplementary circuit and current the sections may be ofany predetermined or of difi'erentlengthsin the same system and. themotor-current left uninterfered with.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a main conductor for the main current, dividedinto sections, switches which normally bridge from one section to theother, traveling vehicles having electric motors by which they aredriven, a supplementary conductor for an independent current dividedinto sections corresponding to those of the main conductor, circuitscontaining electromagnets normally bridging from onesection of saidsupplementary conductor to the other and keeping the switches closed, acontact moved by the vehicle and establishing electrical connectionbetween the main conductor and the motor on the vehicle, and a contactmoved bythe vehicle and in electrical connection with the'supplementaryconductor for shunting the electro-magnets successively of thesupplementary or independent circuit, whereby the switches are openedand the main current diverted through the motors on the vehicles, andsaid motors connected in series, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a conductor divided into sections, switches whichnormally bridge from one section to the other, traveling vehi- 'cleshaving electric motors by which-they are driven, a supplementaryconductor divided into sections, circuits containing electro-magnetswhich normally bridge from one section to the other of the supplementaryconductor and keep the switches closed, and a contact device moved bythe vehicle and establishing electrical connection between the mainconductor and the-motor on the vehicle and moving in electrical contactwith the supplementary conductor, whereby the supplementary current isshunted through the shuttle, the switches opened, and the main currentdiverted through the motors on the vehicles, so that saidmotors areconnected in series, substantially as described.

3. In an electric railway having a sectional main-current conductor, thesections of which are bridged by switches, and a sectional supplementarycurrentconductor having its sections connected by circuits containingelectromagnets, which hold the switches normallyclosed, a shuttle movedby the traveling vehicle, said shuttle having the double function ofestablishing a circuit from each successive section of the mainconductor through the motor on the traveling vehicle, and ofshortcircuiting the supplementary current,whereby the magnets are cutoutand the switches opened to divert the main current through the motors,substantially as described.

4. The combination of a longitudinally-divided conductor,- the partsof"which extend parallel along an electric railway, said parts beingdivided into sections of any desired length, each section on one givenside being connected with the succeeding section on the opposite side,switches which normally bridge from one section on said given side tothe suc ceeding section on the same side, asupplementarylongitudinally-divided conductor,the

parts of which extend parallel along the road, said parts being dividedinto sections corresponding in length to the sections of the mainconductor, each section on one given side being connected with thesucceeding section on the opposite side, circuits containingelectromagnets connecting successive sections on said given side andoperating the switches, and a shuttle or other contact device moved bythe vehicle, said shuttle establishing electric connection between themotor on the vehicle and the main conductor, and moving in electricalcontact with the supplementary conductor, whereby the switches areoperated successively and the main current diverted through the motorson the vehicles, substantially as described.

5. In an electric railway, the combination of the parallel insulatednon-conductingshuttle-guides D, the divided and sectional main conductorunder said guides, opposite successive sections being connected,.asdescribed, the electric switches connecting the sections on the sameside, the divided and sectional supplementary conductor on top of theguides, opposite successive sections being connected, as described, thecircuits containing electromagnets bridging the sections of thesupplementary conductor on the same side and keepsive sections beingconnected, as'clescribed, I

the electric switches connecting the sections on the same side, thedivided and sectional supplementary conductor on top of the guides,opposite successive sections being connected, as described, the circuitscontaining electromagnets bridging the sections of the supplementaryconductor on the same side and keeping the switches closed, and theshuttle moved by the vehicle and traveling between and supported by theguides, said-shuttle having the contacts below moving in electricalconnection with. the main conductor, and the cross-contacts M M above,one in advance of the other, and spanning the space between the sides ofthe supplementary conductor and moving thereon, substantially asdescribed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANCIS M. SPEED.

Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, H. 0. LEE.

